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I would love to winter dive but I have not yet. I have a 7mm wetsuit which is warm but still might be chilly when there is ice on the water. I need to get dry suit certified! I do want to snorkel with Burbot and the best time to do that is during the winter.

Yes they were- they looked like tropical marine fish! I loved watching them underwater. Thank you for watching!

Haha I have snorkeled in 42 degree Fahrenheit water… I had a 7mm wetsuit on. It was cold!! I only snorkeled for about 45 minutes haha

@@grahammontague Hope the time flies by until your next chance to snorkel !

@ thank you so much! I might try to endure the cold and go to a high mountain stream for some brook trout. I wonder if they are stacked up in deep pools. I’m itching to get in the water haha

Yeah he’s the best dad ever. This was his first Ohio stream rainbow trout he has ever caught! It was cool to get it on film and share it with you all. I love rainbow trout too- they are stunning

@grahammontague it's good to spend time with your loved ones doing the things you love. You both stay happy and healthy. My dad passed in 2023. He was a great fisherman as well.

@ family time is always time well spent. I’m sorry to hear about your dad passing away. I hope you and your family also stay safe and healthy!!

Haha I think therefore I am and I think I am fish all the time! It helps me find the fish while snorkeling

I’m surprised how fast eels are too! It is such a surreal experience sharing the water with them. Next time you’re in Vermont- we got to try snorkeling with them!

I would love to see a Longnose Gar snorkeling, but I haven’t seen one yet. Supposedly southern Lake Champlain has a higher abundance of them; however, the water is usually less clear there. I will have to try near Otter Creek this summer to see if I can see any! That would be so cool to see one- thank you!

@ I agree, that would be SO cool! I’m looking forward to seeing what you find snorkeling this coming summer!

@ thank you! I am pumped for next summer too!!

I was so excited to see a few that night. You can see them if you snorkel at night in Lake Champlain near rocky habitat. I agree- dams have disrupted their migration so I hope they can still support a healthy population. Thank you for watching and happy snorkeling!

@ Maybe more dams can come down. The ones in CA came down partly because they were older tech and didn't generate that much power, so the owners didn't want to keep them.

There are no alligators in Lake Champlain (thankfully for my safety’s sake haha). The lake does have lake sturgeon which are a massive fish species that get up to 8 feet long- but they are harmless.

@ And sadly overfished for the caviar

@ yes it is very unfortunate. Caviar is overrated in my opinion…

I love those American Eels too. They blend in so well in that eel grass. I have been working on not stirring up the sediment- that is key for a successful snorkel/dive. Thank you for watching and the positivity!

You are welcome- there will be more snorkeling videos in the future! I went to Hawaii last year and I am excited to post that snorkeling! Thank you!

The suspended particles remind me of snowfall and that is peaceful. Freshwater Drum are so cool and they live very long so that makes them even more mystical. I’m pumped to have found the eels too! Thanks dad, you’re the best.

I was blown away that Lake Champlain has American Eels too! I have been obsessed with them ever since I first moved here and am so excited that I have found where they are and how to watch them in their natural habitats. I am pumped that you also are a fellow eel enthusiast!!!

Some are more cold tolerant species

Unfortunately they are all Zebra Mussels. Lake Champlain is loaded with them. Everything is covered in Zebra Mussels- we need more Freshwater Drum so they can eat more of them haha

@@grahammontague Maybe if we start a rumor with foodies that zebra mussels are a gourmet food...

@ haha Montreal is close and they have a large French population- maybe it’s the next escargot!!

​@@grahammontaguedo they eat the mussels? I was taught as a kid they're invasive and figured nothing ate them. The echo center used to have a bike covered in them on display to illustrate their prolific and complete overwhelm.

@ I am not sure if anyone eats zebra mussels… however I know that Freshwater Drum (being a benthic dwelling fish) love to eat them. It is amazing to see how much of the lake bottom them cover- they are everywhere!

Rock bass are so cool and I love their red eyes! I also love seeing a school of them- I didn’t see any schools this video but in some of my others I have!

@@grahammontague Is there a different term for marine snow when it's in freshwater?

@ I am not sure but it does look like it’s snowing snorkeling in Lake Champlain! It is probably because it is nutrient rich in places and has a lot of particles in the water. The underwater dive light doesn’t help because it illuminates them even more!

@@grahammontague Yeah, hope it didn't sound like a complaint. It's the stuff of life for filter feeders...you have to provide it artificially for some aquarium animals. I just noticed it more than in your other vids, including I think the other night swims.

@ no it didn’t sound like a complaint! It is actually quite magical to experience snorkeling at night.

This was a fun night snorkel for sure. I love those eels so much too- I can watch them underwater forever!!

Lake Champlain is a great fishery and supports diverse aquatic life! It has 93 fish species and is 400 feet deep at its deepest. I usually only dive up to 15 feet at the max and stay around 5-10 feet. This is where the fish viewing is the best! Thank you for appreciating Lake Champlain’s beauty!

@grahammontague og good you don't go too deep. I saw a video on TH-cam a guy somewhere dove to 300ft became disoriented and drowned. Unfortunately, he had his camera on, and the entire ordeal was filmed. Just thinking about it makes me uncomfortable. Stay safe and keep enjoying what you do.

@ yeah those deep free divers are crazy! I try to stay as safe as possible and wear a knife with me if I get tangled in fishing line. Thank you for looking out for me!

@grahammontague of course. You are my learning channel on TH-cam, so I want you to be around for a long time. 😀

@ I am so happy that you are learning from my channel- that is the goal! I will keep making videos and we can learn together!

Haha luckily I don’t have to worry about any sharks in Lake Champlain (at least for now until Bull sharks find a way through the Hudson) but I do have to worry about Champ!

@@grahammontague "until Bull sharks find a way through the Hudson" Oh, man, is that going to be a thing?

@@grahammontague Wear the bright striped suit to let Champy know that you taste terrible, like caterpillars do

@ haha probably not. But who knows what can happen with all this wacky climate change!!

@ haha that’s a great idea- gotta love aposematism (the term for the defense strategy used by animals to warn them they are toxic)! I’ll make sure to eat a bunch of brussel sprouts and onion before snorkeling too so I smell bad

Me too! They are fearless. I love when I can see their eyes follow me. Thanks for watching!

I was along the cliffs by North Beach. There were a ton of nice sized smallmouth along those big rocks!

Yea those were some nice fish. Nice video

@ thank you and happy snorkeling!

Thank you so much for the super like! I will continue to make snorkeling videos and this will help me fund my next snorkeling trip! I hope your 2025 is off to a great start- mine is because of awesome people like you.

YOU are so cool for spreading positivity and your love for fish and aquatic life. Thank you for watching!

I love those big blue fins! Thank you for the well wishes- I hope yours is off to a great start as well. Thank you for watching the older videos too! They are filed with those cute fishes ❤️

@grahammontague i will keep watching you keep posting 😆

@ thank you for being one of my biggest supporters! You are the best!!!

@grahammontague your videos are educational and fun to watch. Keep up the good work.

Noodling 101: stick hand in hole, get bit by catfish, have fun!

@@grahammontague I first heard the term from MTV Teen Mom lol. One of the couples was from OK. "You say you're too busy to do things with me but you go noodling with your buddies" Mentioned it to an outdoor and ranching Southern TH-camr two states away that fish for cats but did not know the slang term. Must be regional.

@ haha that’s hilarious! Sounds like the person from teen mom had things figured out if all they did was noodling. Some call it hand fishing also- but everyone in Oklahoma calls it noodling

Lake Champlain has a decent population and I was shocked to see so many night snorkeling. I am editing another video now where I saw three unique American Eel. Thank you for watching and happy new year! Vermont is beautiful.

@ very cool! Keep up the good work!

Haha it was just like the Kelp Forest! There was times I wish I had the magic conch shell to help me find my way back. Thanks JJ- I’m excited to see your videos too and we will definitely meet up for some filming in 2025

The channel catfish are native to Oklahoma. Flathead and Blue Catfish are native to parts of Oklahoma, but have introduced populations throughout the state too! Haha you don’t need to be a wrestler to be a noodler but it sure does help!!!

@@grahammontague Yeah. One page mentioned channel being invasive in places so I wasn't sure. It can be as specific as one lake sometimes. Thanks

@ you’re right it is like that! I’m sure there are lakes in Oklahoma that they are not supposed to be in. My go to page is the USGS species profile pages but the more pages of research the better!

@@grahammontague Thanks for answering so many questions.

@ thank you for the delightful conversations!

Thank you for watching them! They are so fun to make. That is a great recommendation, I have thought about adding music to these videos. I am torn though because I do not make music and do not understand the copyright laws towards using music in videos and some of my viewers actually prefer the natural snorkeling sounds. This is definitely something I will look into in 2025 videos for sure. Thank you again!

I have heard about the beauty of the Philippines- that’s so cool that you were able to live there for half of your life. California is also a beautiful place with abundant marine life. I agree with you- Fish are the best. I love watching, catching and eating them too. There are some trout in these freshwater lakes but I didn’t see any in this video (they may have been in deeper water). God bless you too and Happy New Year! Thank you for the awesome comment.

Thank you Mr. Maretka! Those eels are so cool to watch underwater. Happy New Year!!

Yeah channel catfish are super cute! It was one of my noodling friends from Oklahoma!

@grahammontague lovely. Catfish noodling must be fun, i am sure.

@ yes it is a blast! You have got to give it a try!

@grahammontague 😀

If they can find a spot where they can nest then they will! Catfish are so cool

No, YOU are awesome for commenting and loving fish. Thanks for watching!

I love catching smallmouth bass! Thank you for your positivity- it is very encouraging! I plan to keep up the snorkeling in 2025!

2025 is going to be the best year yet! I’m excited for it too. Happy snorkeling!

Haha yeah it was ancient. The Bud Light can looked super old too. It’s wild what kind of trash you can see on the bottom of a river/lake. Thanks for watching!

Rock Bass have both native and introduced populations in Vermont. They are native to the St. Lawrence River but introduced to the Connecticut River. Thanks for watching!

Thank you for watching and subscribing! I am glad you appreciate the beauty of the underwater world.

Thank you for the love- right back at you! Waterbury is a beautiful place. Hope 2025 is a great year for you too!

Vermont gets a solid Steelhead run on Lewis Creek and the Laplatte River! I’m sure all Lake Champlain tributaries get some steelhead that run in the spring! Vermont is beautiful- that’s cool you vacation there. Thank you for watching!

@grahammontague i loved the video! One more quick question is that i know there is also a decent population of Landlocked Atlantic Salmon and Rainbow Trout that live in those rivers, Do you think the little bugger in your video that slipped off the hook could have been one of those species? Or are you confident it was really a steelhead? If so thats really amazing.

You are right- Lake Champlain has a population of landlocked Atlantic salmon. However, this was probably a steelhead because I caught this fish in the late spring and it was a little larger than smolt size (it looked to be 7-9 inches). Landlocked Atlantic Salmon usually don’t run up the rivers this far until Fall (October/November) and if it was a salmon smolt- it would probably be a little smaller (although it could be a big one that successfully reproduced here and is running to Lake Champlain to be an adult). The Vermont State Fish and Wildlife Department also stocked Lewis Creek with Steelhead and not Landlocked Atlantic Salmon. So- since I didn’t get a great look at the fish- it could have been a Landlocked Atlantic Salmon, but my guess is that it is a stocked rainbow trout (soon to be steelhead when it runs to Lake Champlain).

@ Awesome! Thanks for all the info!😁👍

They are definitely a wacky creature and move in such a menacing way. But- don’t be too afraid of them, they actually don’t hurt even if you got bit by one.

Haha I actually like night time snorkeling more than I like day time snorkeling. The bigger fish come to the shallows and the fish are more docile. I have another sweet night snorkeling video I will post next week! Thank you for the kind words!

I was looking into the eyes of the king of the cattails. It was a really cool experience. Thanks for the amazing comment and watching!

That’s a good point- whenever I ride past them in a boat they scatter so fast. When you snorkel with them, they are more curious. Thank you for watching and happy new year!

Thank you! Happy New Year to you as well. Let’s make 2025 a great one!

Those big largemouth bass were so photogenic too. They were a treat to snorkel with. Fishing up Lake Champlain north is phenomenal- lots of big fish up there. Thank you for commenting and tight lines!

Yes you can spearfish the common carp on Lake Champlain but there are specific regulations that you need to double check with the Fish and Wildlife Department before spearfishing to make sure you are legally doing it!

Yeah those big largemouth bass knew they were the apex predators of the water. Very cool about swimming with the big carp in Oneida- I’m hoping to see even bigger ones in 2025! Thanks Dad!

I was surprised too- they liked being in that very thick vegetation. They were also very efficient at swimming and navigating through it. So cool to see. Thanks for watching!

Happy New Year!!! Thanks for all the support along the way. I love seeing your comments. God bless you and your family too!